And Justice For All

The other day I was watching this football match when a couple of players started arguing. The referee was pretty far and looking somewhere else but, when he did notice the situation, his resolution was fast: to present both of them with the yellow card. This reminded me of the typical kindergarden/primary school teacher who, when confronted with two arguing/fighting kids, often decides to ground them both.

This is indeed the typical behaviour of adults when dealing with children or, if it is not, then maybe I was just really unlucky during my childhood. I still remember that often, when kids caught in this situation tried to explain what started the fights, the only reply they would get would be "I don't care, you're grounded!". It's funny that our attitude towards children in this matter violates some ground principles of our law system. For instance every defendant is entitled to explain his acts, besides the even more famous innocent until proven guilty principle. It is not uncommon for a bullied child to be punished for being involved in skirmishes. This should be totally unacceptable.

Another thing I remember vividly is how teachers apply global punishments for particular infractions. A whole class may have to stay longer in the classroom, or miss some interesting schooltrip, due to one single student's misbehaviour. This is, in my opinion, awfully misdirected education. There is nothing more revolting and angering for a child than to be punished for something they didn't do. Worst of all, the enforcer is totally aware of their innocence, yet still finds it ok to go ahead with it. Moreover, children who misbehave badly tend to be less receptive to their colleagues "suffering". It is thus not likely that they will change their behaviour out of compassion for their poor fellow students who get punished for no reason.

If we want our children to form good ideals of fairness and justice, then perhaps we should rethink our attitude towards them altogether.


Filipe Baptista de Morais